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  3. Tabs vs Spaces

Tabs vs Spaces

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  • K Kevin Marois

    Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

    If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

    A Offline
    A Offline
    acego
    wrote on last edited by
    #23

    I normally use Tab key (4 spaces) but it also depends on the IDE

    1 Reply Last reply
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    • K Kevin Marois

      Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

      If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

      C Offline
      C Offline
      Cpichols
      wrote on last edited by
      #24

      I use a 2-space tab.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

        I would've never thought there could be a good argument for tabs, but this sounds like a good way to satisfy everyone. My only question would be what the code looks like outside the IDE, in GitHub or even Notepad, for example.

        Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
        The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

        C Offline
        C Offline
        Cpichols
        wrote on last edited by
        #25

        I only care about what it looks like to the one working on the code. When dealing with changes to legacy code, I follow the patter established, which usually means copy/paste of the disparate numbers of spaces depending on the mood of the coder when it was created in notepad :wtf: I really hate the ripple effect that gives - I mean choose an indentation style and stick with it. I'm happiest when working on fresh apps where I can use auto indenting on vscode. So much pleasanter and I can properly collapse the bits I don't need to see right now. Why would I screw that up with using spaces? Just no.

        Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • C Cpichols

          I only care about what it looks like to the one working on the code. When dealing with changes to legacy code, I follow the patter established, which usually means copy/paste of the disparate numbers of spaces depending on the mood of the coder when it was created in notepad :wtf: I really hate the ripple effect that gives - I mean choose an indentation style and stick with it. I'm happiest when working on fresh apps where I can use auto indenting on vscode. So much pleasanter and I can properly collapse the bits I don't need to see right now. Why would I screw that up with using spaces? Just no.

          Greg UtasG Offline
          Greg UtasG Offline
          Greg Utas
          wrote on last edited by
          #26

          What does using spaces have to do with collapsing code that you don't need to see right now?

          Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
          The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

          <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
          <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

          C 2 Replies Last reply
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          • K Kevin Marois

            Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

            If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

            J Offline
            J Offline
            JohnDG52
            wrote on last edited by
            #27

            I prefer tabs - but the VS editor seems to have it's own idea about how they should be rendered, so I often end up using a mixture.

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

              What does using spaces have to do with collapsing code that you don't need to see right now?

              Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
              The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

              C Offline
              C Offline
              Cpichols
              wrote on last edited by
              #28

              You should see this crazy code. It was like they decided arbitrarily each day where to start their nested content.

              code
              

              condition
              {
              code
              condition
              {
              super long lines of code that go all the way off a standard screen with references to deeply nested arrays
              }
              other code
              }

              C Greg UtasG S 3 Replies Last reply
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              • C Cpichols

                You should see this crazy code. It was like they decided arbitrarily each day where to start their nested content.

                code
                

                condition
                {
                code
                condition
                {
                super long lines of code that go all the way off a standard screen with references to deeply nested arrays
                }
                other code
                }

                C Offline
                C Offline
                Cpichols
                wrote on last edited by
                #29

                Yeah that didn't translate right; guess I should have used " "

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                  What does using spaces have to do with collapsing code that you don't need to see right now?

                  Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                  The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                  C Offline
                  C Offline
                  Cpichols
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #30

                  Plus it's way easier to screw up the number of spaces needed. I guess that IDEs can be set to auto indent with spaces, but if someone else goes in there with notepad, it'll be a mess in a hurry. Using tabs discourages the use of notepad. Is that controlling? Maybe. I am a megalomaniac only in the coding, otherwise I'm very accommodating, so I'm comfortable with that.

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • C Cpichols

                    You should see this crazy code. It was like they decided arbitrarily each day where to start their nested content.

                    code
                    

                    condition
                    {
                    code
                    condition
                    {
                    super long lines of code that go all the way off a standard screen with references to deeply nested arrays
                    }
                    other code
                    }

                    Greg UtasG Offline
                    Greg UtasG Offline
                    Greg Utas
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #31

                    That's beyond sloppy. I would reformat it, and anyone who complained would be auditioning for a boys' choir.

                    Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                    The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                    <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
                    <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

                    C 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • C Cpichols

                      You should see this crazy code. It was like they decided arbitrarily each day where to start their nested content.

                      code
                      

                      condition
                      {
                      code
                      condition
                      {
                      super long lines of code that go all the way off a standard screen with references to deeply nested arrays
                      }
                      other code
                      }

                      S Offline
                      S Offline
                      steve tabler
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #32

                      I'm regularly asked by other coders to fix code or tweak code that is formattwed like this, or worse. U like my indents to be a consistant 1/4 inch so the long lines of code don't wrap because they have several levels of indent in them. Just give me Allsup (ANSI) format.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • P PIEBALDconsult

                        No, TAB stops are by distance, not character count. A half inch is sufficient.

                        T Offline
                        T Offline
                        Techsys Admin
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #33

                        You've got a point there. Word and WordPad (and many others, I'm sure) default to a proportional font so the default tab is 1/2 inch. Oddly, with a monospace fonts, I don't even consider the distance, per se, but instead a sufficient number of characters to make it read comfortably. Perhaps others do this? In any case, I normally choose 4 characters for the tab length in those files but I may have been influenced by so many editors choosing that same number.

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • K Kevin Marois

                          Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

                          If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

                          M Offline
                          M Offline
                          Mark Starr
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #34

                          Indent? That’s really a thing? I just left-align everything. Tried right-align, but that was messy. :)

                          Time is the differentiation of eternity devised by man to measure the passage of human events. - Manly P. Hall Mark Just another cog in the wheel

                          G 1 Reply Last reply
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                          • K Kevin Marois

                            Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

                            If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

                            U Offline
                            U Offline
                            User 11566074
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #35

                            I use spaces (inserted using the Tab key) according to the language: Python - 4 as is the usual setting, HTML/JavaScript: 2 because otherwise indenting of HTML tends to become too high to be comfortable.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                              That's beyond sloppy. I would reformat it, and anyone who complained would be auditioning for a boys' choir.

                              Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                              The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              Cpichols
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #36

                              Yes, I tried that in the first few weeks of my job and got in major trouble because git was a Christmas tree. And they just ignored my branches because of it. Low man on totem pole.

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                              • L Lost User

                                I never understood that, 8 spaces per tab, on a teletype of all things - sheer lunacy.

                                O Offline
                                O Offline
                                obermd
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #37

                                I think it had to do with what a mechanical typewriter was able to reliably insert. Remember, the tab key didn't shift x spaces, it shifted to the next tab stop, and yes, these were physical stops in a mechanical typewriter. Since these old machines worked on a fixed width font of 8 characters per inch and the physical tab stops were one inch apart, a tab became associated with 8 characters.

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                                • M Mike Hankey

                                  Beer cans used to have tabs...so I prefer tabs. :)

                                  PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - A updated version available! JaxCoder.com

                                  M Offline
                                  M Offline
                                  megaadam
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #38

                                  I fine with that as long as you pick up the tab!

                                  "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

                                  M 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • M megaadam

                                    I fine with that as long as you pick up the tab!

                                    "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

                                    M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    Mike Hankey
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #39

                                    Not any more Tab Soda 12 Pack Soft Drinks Tab Soda Discontinued 🥤02/2021 | eBay[^]

                                    PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - A updated version available! JaxCoder.com

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • K Kevin Marois

                                      Quick survey... How many of you uses tabs vs spaces to indent your code?

                                      If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.

                                      T Offline
                                      T Offline
                                      TNCaver
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #40

                                      Tabs. Converting the tabs to spaces in my code is a capital offense with immediate execution of the sentence.

                                      If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • M Mike Hankey

                                        Beer cans used to have tabs...so I prefer tabs. :)

                                        PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - A updated version available! JaxCoder.com

                                        C Offline
                                        C Offline
                                        Choroid
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #41

                                        Competition for your "PartsBin" Wait... What? I Made a Small Parts Organizer with Drawers from Cardboard! - YouTube[^] Perhaps include this as an add on

                                        M 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • C Choroid

                                          Competition for your "PartsBin" Wait... What? I Made a Small Parts Organizer with Drawers from Cardboard! - YouTube[^] Perhaps include this as an add on

                                          M Offline
                                          M Offline
                                          Mike Hankey
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #42

                                          Awesome thanks for the link. Good storage alternative, especially since the organizers are so dang expensive.

                                          PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - A updated version available! JaxCoder.com

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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